Thompson ready to ease Wedge's return

OAKLAND -- In an attempt to ease Eric Wedge's return to the skipper's role, acting manager Robby Thompson expects to meet with Wedge during the Mariners' off-day Thursday before Wedge rejoins the team on Friday.

"I'm going to talk after batting practice with him and see if we can't maybe use a bit of the off-day to just hang out a little bit and see what kind of plan that he would like to do," Thompson said before Tuesday's game against the A's. "I know that he wants to come back slowly, that he's been told that and he can't really jump in full bore. We'll work off each other just like we have in the past."

Thompson said he'll try to help limit Wedge's pregame responsibilities during the first handful of games. Wedge has been away since he had a mild stroke before a home game on July 22.

"I'm sure that he's been thinking a lot about it and I'm sure that he'll come up with a pretty good game plan with the medical side of things and what they've recommended," Thompson said.